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His death was a shock to Canadians that witnessed him win a Cy Young Award with the Blue Jays in 2003 and another as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2010. Halladay was with Toronto from 1998 to 2009 before being dealt to Philadelphia, where he played from 2010-13.

He was a three-time 20-game winner and pitched both a perfect game for the Phillies (2010) and a no-hitter in the National League Division Series later that year.

Rachel Homan dominates women’s curling

Canadian skip Rachel Homan, from Ottawa, will represent Canada in women's curling at the 2018 Winter Olympics. (Adrian Wyld)

Ottawa’s Rachel Homan produced one of the most successful calendar years in curling history in 2017.

The 28-year-old skip earned a berth in February’s Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea with a victory at the Roar of the Rings. She also captures the Tournament of Hearts national title and the world championship.

Toronto (20-5-9) was also the best team during the regular season and set a record with 69 points — the most ever in MLS history. Along with the MLS Cup, they accomplished a treble by capturing the Supporters’ Shield as best MLS regular-season team and a Voyageurs Cup as Canadian champions.

Canadian basketball player R.J. Barrett is seen as one of the favourites to land the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)

R.J. Barrett turned heads this year as Canada’s next top basketball star.

The 17-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., earned MVP honours over the summer while leading Canada to gold at the FIBA under-19 World Cup in Cairo. It was the first time Canadians of any gender or age group won a world basketball title. And Barrett did it all as one of the tournament’s youngest players.

Canada didn’t back its way into the title either. They decisively beat the United States in the semifinals before cruising past Italy in the final.

The tournament success prompted Barrett to rethink his future and reclassify for college a year earlier. He announced his intentions to play for Duke next year.

Brooke Henderson won both the McKayson New Zealand Women?s Open in September and the Meijer LPGA Classic in June to reach five career wins. (Darron Cummings)

Brooke Henderson built off an impressive rookie season to earn two more LPGA Tour wins this year.

The Smiths Falls, Ont., native won both the McKayson New Zealand Women’s Open in September and the Meijer LPGA Classic in June to reach five career wins.

Another highlight on the season for the 20-year-old was rallying back at the CP Women’s Open in Ottawa to finish tied for 12th, firing a course record 63 in the process.

Henderson, 20, earned more than US$1.5 million and finished sixth on the money list. She’s currently No. 13 on the world rankings.

Canada shut out at world track championships

Star Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse had to skip this year's world track championships. (Abdeljalil Bounhar/The associated Press)

Canada entered the world track and field championships in London with a ton of hype after a steady build up of solid performances in the two previous years.

But a slew of injuries and illnesses left the Canadians off the podium and empty-handed for the first time in 16 years.

Sprinter Andre De Grasse pulled out two nights before London with a torn hamstring. He was pegged to win three medals. Olympic and world champion high jumper Derek Drouin withdrew with an Achilles injury and then a stomach bug swept through the Canadian team hotel which forced nine Canadian athletes and staff into quarantine.

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